Thursday, 26 December 2013

Seeing as we're having a bluesy Christmastime my next recommendation is for the blues explosion that is The Bobcats. Rural raucous country blues is the order of the day, rumbling toms, rolling basslines and crunchy licks seems to be the soup du jour.

Rocking behind the drum kit it Boppa, real name unknown, even to the other members of the band, who looks like he'd be at home in an al night rave at a petrol station as he does effortlessly knocking out solid loops of rhythmic fury, and Dan Fraser-Betts plays the bass like a nimble and dexterous jazz musician who's somehow stumbled into a blues band, and probably feels kind of how Jack Bruce must have done playing with Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton in Cream. A very solid and talented rhythm section indeed.

Frontman Stu Crown I had had the pleasure of seeing acoustically a couple of times before I saw the Bobcats and whilst his howling blues and seeming attempts to saw the guitar in half with his hand whilst playing was a pleasure to witness and behold, it didn't prepare me for how much I would enjoy watching the full electric blast of The Bobcats.

Stu, with a wealth of knowledge in blues music and a voice that had me believing he was many years my senior I was further shocked to learn he was two years my junior at a subsequent meeting ! A tale of alcohol and drug abuse there for you kids from myself and Stu, you might get a nice unique voice but you'll probably look as dishevelled and hairy as we do in our mid-twenties (and that's a joke before anyone starts suggesting that I'm recommending drugs and alcohol to improve your vocal skills, tone and resonance, because that is simply not true ... listen to Liam Gallagher circa 1994, 2004 then next year in 2014 for a reference on that theorem).

It seems fitting that I'm writing this with some home-made bread, tomato soup, peppermint tea, a fruit smoothie featuring apples, melon, pineapple, oranges and unpeeled kiwis - so much nutrition in the skin of those little hairy bad boys - that Mr Crown and I have had many a discussion on all things rural, rustic and pastoral, a keen craftsman and ardent follower of the "reduce, reuse, recycle" mantra I feel as though I've found somewhat of a musical kindred spirit, excellent stuff, and it always helps when someone like The Beatles too ... personally I'm feasting on the hearty blues and full of soul sound of The Bobcats and I hope you will too.

And now because I'm not one for scouring links and putting other people's tunes up on my blog here's my heaviest bit of blues rockin' for you all this Boxing Day ... you've all got Google, do it for yourself ... you won't be disappointed ...

Sunday, 22 December 2013

With his growing fanbase on Facebook and Twitter, in recent interview I was asked how I would if my cat became more famous than me?? Well, I said I wouldn't mind, and of course I wouldn't, he's great, funny, cute, pretty much like Ryan Gosling if he didn't have such an ugly little face, I Love Him !

Saturday, 21 December 2013

Sorry I've been overdue a recommendation for a little short while now, so here' we go with some noisy rockin' cataclysmic dirty blues - Savanna Bones. These top chaps invited me to play at their hometown show and blew me away, live and on the cooly stamed brown card CDs they give out, for nothing, and there's some top notch stuff on their.

When people generally encounter two piece blues they tend to opt for the lazy journalist comparisons of The White Stripes and The Black Keys, and yes, whilst they are often relevant touching stones, there's a whole lot more going on here. Elements of lots of modern rock bands go into the pot, I hear elements of recent Arctic Monkeys, a little 22-20s, occasional bits of The Hives and The Dead 60s, and there's a lot of proper fuzzy old blues influence in their too.

Adam Paddy on guitar drinks from the same poisoned chalice as Disraeli Gears era Eric Clapton, whilst Robbie pounds the drums like John Bonham, with a loud full fat soaring ride cymbal and stomping bass, whilst all the time searching for lyrical plateaus left on a Wildean cutting room floor.

Personal highlight from their set was the unyet recorded Crooked Little Beast, it's a corker but hopefully they'll get some more of their other tunes online soon, tales of psychopaths, serial killers, fire, light, loudness and darkness, it's all in there, it's all good and it's all Savanna Bones. Catch them live when they get themselves together for a showdown, it'll stay yer !

Wednesday, 18 December 2013

Well, I've had a busy few months, I hope you have too, working on things to better yourself and the world around you, mostly all I have to offer is songs, but I'll keep working at it. Taking a little break now for the festive season, here's to a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all ! But first, a quick recap of what I've done, what I'm doing and what's in store for 2014 ...

... and you can listen to an acoustic version over on my SoundCloud ... see you there !

I've stuck up a few tunes now for free and there's loads of radio sessions up on YouTube too, come join over 1000 subscribers to my channel today ! So pleased to see everything still growing nicely as we head into the new year.

Matt Henshaw's Adventures in WonderlandMy blog continues to grow and diversify too, I'm doing weekly recommendatios of some of my favourite musical things, giving you gardening updates and tips, exclusive video bits, lyrics, updates and more ... probably the best place for you to keep up with what I'm doing. I'm sure as you can tell from my mailing list newsletters that I'm a fan of the lengthy epistolary exchange !

Writing & Recording in 2014Having a few weeks off my plan is to record some new stuff in the new year. Having written many album's worth of songs I want to record everything to a standard that I am well and truly happy to put my name on. Fingers crossed that everything works out in January and I get close to where I want to be sonicly. Keep an eye on the Facebook, Blog and Twitter for some new videos and pictures from my recent shoots coming soon. And I wish you all a happy and prosperous one, stay cool, stay beautiful, and stay tuned !

Well, he don't want to stay here
Not another day here
Because just like me he can't stand the weather

We all know that planet earth is blue
And we all know that love is true
If only it could last forever

In The Presence Of The Lord
All you hold in your hands is all that you need
For the sake of your brothers and sisters you'd die for love
You would die for love

You want to go out and kiss the son
From the moment your life had begun
But first my children you must learn to kiss the sky

From the moment you walk through the door
It's the moment you had to be sure
That things they ain't never going to get any better

In The Presence Of The Lord
All you hold in your hands is all that you need
For the sake of your brothers and sisters you'd die for love
You would die for love

Om Om Om

In the passing of time
Well I've looked and I've but I still couldn't
Someone quite like you
Somebody who would die for love

In The Presence Of The Lord
All you hold in your hands is all that you need
For the sake of your brothers and sisters you'd die for love
You would die for love
In The Presence Of The Lord
All you hold in your hands is all that you need
For the sake of your brothers and sisters you'd die for love
You would die for love
You would die for love
You would die die for love
In The Presence Of The Lord
You'd die for love
In The Presence Of The Lord

Friday, 6 December 2013

I've been planning on sharing a few things that I like, advocate or agree with on the world wide web for sometime, and now I think that it's time, with Food Matters .tv allowing you to stream their film in high quality for FREE ! Now's the time, go and educate yourselves a little, give it an hour, and you don't need some scrawny Scottish lady courtesy of Channel 4 to tell you that you are well and truly what you eat ...

Front man Leo Stannard is blazing a trail as a solo artist but his college friends aid in creating a luscious landscape of free moving parts incorporating R&B, jazz, ambient, funk and electronic sounds that you can imagine resonating around any sized room. The sheer joy I encountered standing and listening to their noise hasn't been rivalled this year so far, and if any act wishes to better it they'd better be quick as 2013 is almost over.

Another key factor is the presence of girls in the band, everyone knows the late great Lou Reed's theory openly adhered to by the likes of JArvis Cocker that any good band needs a bit of oestrogen, Irene and Isabel work in the strings and woodwind department, a huge compliment to the sound, and so refreshing to hear when seeing so many bands today relies on synthesized sounds, computers and/or effects to produce the noises you need to hear. Seeing and hearing Mattayoux is an absolute pleasure.

No discounting James, Phil and George are some of the nicest kids you might get the chance to meet, and Will may just sweet talk you enough to get you to go buy him a drink ! Just to re-iterate, an absolute pleasure, if you get the chance to go and catch, please do !

Tuesday, 3 December 2013

As some of you may or may not know, I'm a bit of an idealistic type who believes that an egalitarian socialist humanist paradise isn't too unfeasible an idea to contemplate for the not so distant future (note here from the get go that I am not a utopianist, there will always be problems in a society by nature or design, it's how we overcome those problem as a society and community that defines us and our future) so with that in mind I am taking a few more visible steps into activism, aside from being the armchair type, sharing the odd tweet, signing the odd petition and fervently reading and watching alternative media ... worry not, I believe in life and I believe in love and you'll still have plenty of music from me, and there's plenty more on the way, rest at ease, and for the most part that's all non-partisan, secular and some of it has been recently described by one (hopefully) solitary reviewer as "prosaic", which I don't mind, opinions make up the world and if my tunes are easily enjoying with a cup of tea, tea lights and you biscuit of choice then that makes me happy ...

Anyways, I believe that the biggest difference you can make is local, small changes, and a passion, a belief in local communities and people being able to make a better world for themselves ... if you're an ardent reader of my blog, I'd love to think you've taken a shine to composting and joined the millions of us green fingered types who believe compost will save the world. So, with this in mind I hope to do little bits to improve the places I've lived, worked, studied, played or all in some cases ll four, by focussing on projects, awareness, and just general niceness to get communities coming together, Ilkeston, Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, Sheffield, London and more, and hopefully I can make my small difference make a bigger impact, empowering others through empowering myself ... I know it's oft-quoted but Mahatma Gandhi wasn't messing around when he said "be the change you want to be in the world.

I've done a few community things in Notts and Derbyshire, and a few bits with the Universities in Leicester, but a truly community led local initiative I've been drawn to is the "Say No To Tesco" campaign that has sprouted up in the Clarendon Park area of Leicester. Residents have united in response to the motions that have started regarding turning an old beautiful building that was a Barclays Bank into a Tesco Express, that would be well into double figures for central Leicester and would further increase the area becoming bereft of local businesses, diverse culture and wonderful buildings. There are so many reasons why I support these people in their desire to stop Tesco implanting themselves on the wonderful Queens Road but I won't rant on too much further ... if anyone wishes to engage in conversation with me on the subject, please do, via twitter, email, facebook or however ...

In the meantime here's a bit of poetry my brother wrote ... he's an English graduate and a school teacher ... right on brother !

Every Little Hurts

You set your sights on our small shops
And they become your prey.
You ate our local butcher whole
When you appeared that day.
You rape our farmers year-by-year,
Or move your trade abroad.
You brainwash folk who think that you
Are all they can afford.
The peasants of this mining town
All come to you for food.
Some clod poles even worship you,
You brighten up their mood.
They travel in their cars to you
Polluting Britain’s air,
Whilst you bring goods from overseas,
Your trade is rarely fair.
For Costa Ricans picking fruit
Can work for two days straight.
Their fruit will keep your stomach full
So you can stay up late.
You steal cashews from India,
You leave their women scarred.
But still our sheep all flock to you,
Although your name’s been marred.
In Bangladesh your women work
For just five pence an hour,
They make the clothes you sell so cheap
Next to your eggs and flour.
With such a wide variety
Our small shops can’t compete;
With baker’s baking cakes all day
That no one wants to eat.
The milkman potters ‘round the streets
Delivering here and there,
But not enough to make ends meet,
And no one seems to care.
So every time their moth-like wings
Are heading t’wards your light,
Like zombies with a thirst for blood,
They help you win the fight.

Clarendon Park is the last place you'd expect to find Occupy style grass roots activism but if people work together for something positive that you believe in, you can make a difference ... Spread The Love, MHx

Friday, 29 November 2013

Recommending again, this time an absolutely sensational guitarist, who at a such a young age wasn't born when John Major was prime minister, is one of the most accomplished and talented musicians I know. Playing bass or guitar he can transform a melody into symphony with one instrument. Often times it's not cool to bash on about someones talent being amazing just because of how young they are, so for a second let's just completely discard the simple fact that Matt is barely tackling his GCSEs and know that at whatever age he is simply a brilliant musician, if he was 44 I'd have the same amount of respect and admiration for him, and I'm sure by 44 he'll have a lot more stories to tell about his wild successes as a guitar man.

Now, I'm no whizz kid on the guitar, I went to the Manchester school of simplicity, starting out learning the chords to Noel Gallagher songs and then ripping a few licks off of The Stone Roses' John Squire and eventually attempting some Hendrix, Clapton and Jimmy Page, but Matt Zara eats, breathes and sleeps his instrument, I would be surprised if he sleeps with it, such expression and dexterity in his fingers, a skill at improvisation and playing by ear that most don't develop and execute with such ease.

Let's just say Matt would be my first port of call if I ever needed a serious guitarist, session man or tour buddy, he'd be an asset to any ensemble and a pleasure to share the stage with, no doubt one day I'll find myself saying the words "and on guitar, Matt Zara!" to a huge round of applause and some ecstatically excited girlish screams, if only from me ! And if he'd join a band with me at the helm.

I met him for the first time at an open mic night in Leicester and unfortunately missed him, but he, and his whole family, sat and watched me do a few tunes and I felt as though I'd found a new friend and a family away from home straight away, beautiful people, it wasn't until he mentioned that I should go to an open mic the following night nearer his home and with some of his friends that I really had the chance to be blown away, and discovered a further set of incredibly talented people and indeed a musical family.

The first step in my dream band of Matt's ... I already have an organ and piano player in mind, I'll let you know about him further down the line, but here's one of Matt's original compositions ... you might catch him playing in Leicester, a open mics, busking or alongside the fabulous Mark Elliott and Martin Luke Brown ...

I'm working on my guitar skills ... the next "title video" I upload might just include a guitar solo ... oooooooooh ...

Wednesday, 27 November 2013

A quick fly by blog whilst I'm in the mood. Very productive times here at Henshaw Towers. Everything going swimmingly and according to plan, looking forward to a happy and hopefully excited 2014, as I'm sure you all are too. Stick with me, Team Matt Henshaw needs all the love and support it can get.

I've been touting my wares at radio stations and doing interviews around the Midlands and South Yorkshire and I'm getting round to getting everything on YouTube for you all to watch, Like and share with your friends ... around 1000 subscribers now and steady stream of views up in the 1000s for each video I have shared. Keep watching, the ethos for most of the things I am uploading at the moment is get the songs out there with the title and my name and let the music do the talking, hopefully it is and you like everything I'm throwing at you ...

Here's a video from Demon FM session I did at O Bar for The Monograph magazine, look out for a feature in there in the first 2014 edition along with Kasabian and By The Rivers ...

Matt Henshaw Recommends
I hope you've been enjoying my recommendations so far. I hope to share with you one of my favourite underground acts every week, and keep up the quality of my recommendations, so far they been brilliant, check back if you haven't read about the guys and gals I been telling everyone about just lately ... I'm such a generous fella ! In this interview I get asked to plug my website and shows and end up talking about Charlotte Carpenter and Leah Sinead for about 5 minutes ...

Matt Henshaws Horticultural Gardening Blog ...
I hope to keep you informed about my garden over the winter and into the new year, there's not a huge amount growing at the moment in the midst of the frosty season, but we have little bits, you know I think compost will save the world, and I'm excited about the Chocolate Peppers I will have to introduce you to come January ... here's a little song I wrote inspired by my pastoral endeavours and seemingly care free lifestyle ... it's called Hakuna Matata ... no, not really, No Matter How from my Coalville Hermitage FM session on The Launch Pad ...

More blog ideas coming soon, and I think I might be due a football rant, but it's all good, some nice shows coming up and plenty of opportunities for some tea with friends and family over the festive season.

Sunday, 17 November 2013

Something a little different for you this time around. Vocal harmonies, doo-wop and barbershop. My kind of sound for an evening out. These 4 chaps could quite happily sit on any stage or feature with any act, the vocal dexterity and skill with which they twist and unfurl through any live performance is second to none. I saw them perform for the first time the other week in Leicester and let's just say my socks were knocked off, they flew right across the room. 4 genuinely talented vocalists, snappy dressers and, most importantly, nice guys, definitely good guys.

Absolutely solid in their barbershop foundation, with a knowledge and an ear for the history of the traditional singing style but The Simpletones easily adapt to soulful doo wop Drifters style or re-interpretations of pop hits, easy. As a matter of fact I'd love to hear them do one of mine. Lead Simpletone Simon is one of nicest blokes you're ever likely to meet, don't be put off by his intimidating stature, penchant for blue language and sometimes puerile humour, an honest and decent lover of his trade and a hardworking musician, engineer and school teacher, a credit to everyone who can call him a friend, hopefully now it's safe to say that I am one.

The two Nicks, Nick and Nik I believe, are the heart-throbs, one of each size, whichever you desire, and consummate professionals. Tenor and baritone respectively, the latter Nik provides some 21st century beatboxing occasionally along the way which is a perfect compliments, never too showy or overbearing, it's all about the vocals, but it does vary up a lengthy set, which all four sets of lungs can invariably carry.

And last but not least, Ian the beardy bass man, is a true gent of the highest order, I first met him at a party, stood next to him for a quick chat and to exchange of a few rude jokes before I desperately searched for a kettle. I had no idea he was a singer, or indeed so talented, just a witty filthy humoured bearded fella, let the cover not be thee judgement of thy book. Top fellas all round. I've also seen them make up songs on the spot, excellent stuff, especially when complimenting me on my style and dress sense, nice one Simon !

I was intending to head out to see them this evening switch on some Christmas lights in Leicester city but I've been home playing doctor for my ill girlfriend and sending positive energies to the fellas from my sofa. And hence thus and therefore writing a song for my friend Paul who is getting married next year and has asked me to play at his wedding, something along the lines of It Ain't Easy, but "with a more positive lyric", one can only try, and maybe get The Simpletones to do some doo-wop harmonies and a bass lines for me, how about it boys?

Hows about joining me for some soulful singing anytime boys ... here's me doing one of my own little ditties and a bit of Sam Cooke from The Soul Stirrers himself ...

Wednesday, 13 November 2013

So, here we go again, another ready made starlet from the East Midlands for you. Coming straight out of Northants and Live in Leicester every month, Charlotte Carpenter is fast becoming a favourite songwriter of mine. I've found the transition into becoming a solo singer-songwriter quite strange, and at times difficult, even lonely, but when you do come across another artist you find so likable and relatable it makes the journey all the more bearable. Watching Charlotte play live and solo at Hansom Hall in Leicester last month I was struck by her natural demeanour and wonderful disposition, well crafted songs, innocence and she was an absolute joy to listen to. I've never related so much to one girl and a guitar in the entirety of my existence.

I see parallels between her and myself, we've probably written thousands of love songs and yet as we mature and become jaded by the things that life throws at us and the strive to pursue our artistic visions and present ourselves creatively it can sometimes get a little dark and introspective. It's all good though, a deep cleansing catharthis, when someone sings from their heart and soul you know about it, you recognise it and it chimes with you, stays with you and resonates.

Her regular showcase Charotte Carpenter's Tea Party at The Cookie Jar in Leicester has established itself, in my head at least, as the best night of the month in the city and features some of the best acoustic acts from around the country. The imagery and inflections Miss Carpenter bring to the party sit very well with me, I love Lewis Carroll and a good cup of Yorkshire. And I'll be playing with Charlotte at the end of this month (Friday 29th November), I can't wait.

Again, I'd love to see more of this girl and take a road trip in 2014, her new EP 'Whole' will be coming out shortly and from what I've heard it's going to be fantastic. The production sounds top notch and the songs have a depth and wisdom that is astonishing, I like a good minor chord and a wistful lyric. Highly recommended.

Here's the lady herself previewing a track from the new EP, and if you want some more the lead track is on her SoundCloud, playing on repeat for me ...

And here's me being wistful myself, when I sing the second verse I am speaking of people who are the complete antithesis of Charlotte, she makes going out and making idle chatter an absolute pleasure ...

Also, I'll be in Sheffield this Friday at The Grindstone for the Indie Project, it's a FREE show and I'd love to see some fellow Wednesdayites down there, it's my first show in the city and I'm hoping for a nice turn out. And I need a good night to get over the tumultuous season the Owls are having ...

Thursday, 7 November 2013

The above picture is taken from her set a week ago or so at The Old Bell in Derby taken by Alice Kell and the show was put on by Paul Herron of The Sons. I had the pleasure of being with her that night and she went on to do a second set that night at a Halloween party at The Maze in Nottingham, indicative of just how hard working Leah has been this year, two shows in one night and performing almost every night of the week is nothing out of the ordinary for this girl. A true artist and performer, and one of the many reasons why I can relate so much to this girl who on the surface may seem so different from myself.

Leah's sombre Irish-tinged melodies betray her roots and the powerful imagery in her lyrics touch the soul and come from the same place within her. I'm happy to say that I'm an old friend of Leah and as surprised as anyone who knew her before she began performing with a vengeance that she is so full of grace, talent and a modesty that is endearing and sweet. So unassuming is Leah that she has no idea how talented she is as a writer, singer and completely unaware of her effortless brilliance.

Definitely one of the finest of the current crop of singer-songwriters and female vocalists coming out of Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands. I hope to see a lot more of Leah live and I hope to see us hitting the road a bit together come 2014, take the sound of the East Midlands, our humour - yeah, she's a really funny girl too - and our acoustic guitar into the deepest darkest parts of this country of ours.

I like her so much she played at my birthday party a couple of months ago. Top Girl !

And I think she'll be playing with me in Nottingham on Saturday 23rd November at Hinckley Market Lace Market, whatever it's called. Afternoon shindig with food and market stalls and that. Give her a listen, find her playing live, close your eyes and listen good. You won't be disappointed.

Tuesday, 5 November 2013

Good day folks, here's my plan for another feature on this here Matt Henshaw blog - Matt Henshaw Recommends ... I've done this in the past and done my bit to project the careers of my musical contemporaries into the stratosphere, or there abouts, my guiding hand of recommendation has pointed a few people in the direction of Dog Is Dead, Jake Bugg, Twisted Wheel and George Moran, now playing guitar with Miles Kane. It's a lonely old life being a singer-songwriter so when you come across other musicians who are like-minded, a pleasure to spend time with or just bloody good at what they do it's always nice to share a little love for them in cyber space and spread the love.

Stay tuned for some recommendations, or conversely if you think I should know about someone or write about someone up here, let me know ... all the usual outlets ... MattHenshaw.com, facebook, twitter, youtube ... it's all good ...

Thursday, 31 October 2013

Matt Henshaw’s biography is already complex at the age of 26, which gives his song-writing a depth and maturity that could only have come with experience; suffering for his art and travelling a journey that has shaped and honed his skills – and it shows. Having paid his dues, he is still on his way up…and the best is yet to come.

This soul-loving, tea-drinking gardener is a singer/songwriter of some repute from Ilkeston, between Nottingham and Derby, who is now living in Leicester and taking the local music scene there by storm. His penchant for acoustic sets and original songs showcases his love of guitar and vocal – based soul & blues, demonstrating his influences of Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Steve Marriott and Sam Cooke, and earning him the description of ‘an old soul in a young body’. He has named his unique sound Acoustic Rhythm and Gospel, creating a new music genre and inspiring his audiences to follow the man and his music. Widely respected by his peers and well known to the gig-going audiences in the Midlands, he is now travelling the length and breadth of the UK looking to broaden his appeal, continue the journey that has taken him this far, make his mark on the national music scene, and see where the ride takes him.

His recent decision to perform as a solo artist, stripping back his unique sound to just an acoustic guitar and his superbly mellifluous voice, has already generated much interest and he can be found most evenings on a stage doing what he was born to do, guitar in hand, working his particular brand of magic; his beautiful soulful voice and ethereal guitar weaving a spell over a gathering with self-penned songs so resonant with emotion and meaning they would cause an angel to weep, leaving his audience spellbound and wanting more. This rapidly growing interest has strengthened his resolve to make himself prominent on the UK music scene, and his web-based activities on popular social networking sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter growing his following to promote himself and his music are now paying dividends, with fans across the globe wanting more.

His superlative voice and stage presence has already won him critical acclaim from respected publications such as the NME and The Guardian; he has been featured on BBC Introducing numerous times, appears regularly on independent radio stations throughout the Midlands, and opened the main stage for Dizzy Rascal at Lovebox Festival in London after winning the NME Breakthrough Act in 2010. He was previously a founder member of Censored, a band who garnered much critical acclaim and fame throughout the Midlands, and who supported Snow Patrol, Ocean Colour Scene and We Are Scientists, also playing the Isle Of Wight & Reading and Leeds Festivals. More recently, he has collaborated with numerous artists in and around his home patch to create a unique sound with the Derby-based MC Reggiimental, which has been dubbed B-Boy Soul and which generated the widely-acclaimed album ‘Coming Around’- the most under-rated album release of this year. He has also teamed up with a former bandmate, under the name of Satsuma Elephants, to generate psychedelic rock with soulful undertones; an eclectic mix which demonstrates how successfully he can slip from genre to genre, and even create new ones, without losing integrity and which showcases his appeal to his many appreciative fans.

Monday, 28 October 2013

Now, I don't usually do this but this evening I found myself embroiled in a debate on a Sheffield Wednesday fans' forum, as a short-term facebook user something like this was bound to happen eventually, it was noted that an article had been written about the possibility of sacking Dave Jones and replacing him with, possibly, Paolo Di Canio, and names have been thrown around like Ian Holloway, Alan Curbishley or the return of Gary Megson ... I'm sure there may have been some one step away from suggesting Ron Atkinson ! So, I considered a response, and for about 30 seconds decided whether it should stay in my head or allow myself to transcend my thought via my fingers, keyboard and through to the world wide web ... I did it ! And here's what I had to say ... would love to know if there's any Wednesday fans, football fans or generally anyone with an opinion out there who agrees or disagrees with me ...

" It would be foolhardy to sack Jones at this stage, what's the real alternative? All the names mentioned would cast Hillsborough as a circus big top like it was in the late nineties/early noughties, and we all know how that turned out, are we still feeling the affects of Wim Jonk's wage bill ?

Anyways, I hope we can stick with Jones and turn it round, the Championship is always about a string of results completely sending your season one way or the other, I take a tiny glimmer of hope in the fact that most games have been draws and not losses, and we've managed to score in every game bar one, maybe I'm clutching at straws but I don't see any major issues, with any particular players, management or Milan, not that they're all great either, but Wednesday fans always are quick to forget the not too distant past and forget that we're still a fairly newly promoted club, and whilst we have a grand history, it was only automatic promotion due to the rapid decline of the other team in the city as late in the season as April 2012, under a new manager - the man in question - and without the massive investment seen at some other clubs and whilst attempting to rectify financial stability at the club. We managed another season and had a real good push towards the play-offs towards the end.

I hope I'm not eating my words come the new year, but there's always a notion with Wednesdayites to look back through rose-tinted spectacles to this golden era of the nineties, when in reality it was predicated on a similar structure of instability that saw the socio-political spiral [system] into chaos a few years later, debt, complacency and lots of it! The clubs that have survived and flourished since that time are the ones that have progressed, built solid foundations, been more business-like and rational in their decision making rather than fiery and, indeed like I said, foolhardy. Now, I wouldn't want our beloved club to be as boring as Stoke or Fulham but I'd love to support a Premiership club again ! Up The Owls ... the only way is up right now though isn't it !??"

So, there it was, my first foray into the world of football forums, I hope you can forgive me, and/or perhaps but me forward for a job at the Guardian's sports desk ... wouldn't mind going in the pod with James Riachardson, or failing that, having a chat with Lord Hillsborough and the chaps over at The Wednesday Week ...

Let's get behind the club, their current manager and raggle taggle squad if you're a fan, and if you're a romantic you know you want to see one of the oldest, most famous and most titilatingly titled English clubs out there back up in the Premier League ... where they belong.

I'm even appropriately dressed for the occasion sat, as I am, on my Sheffield Wednesday bean bag ...

Already the most listened to Leicester Music Podcast with the BBC's John Sinclair and featuring your very own new guy in town Matt Henshaw. I come in around 1 hour and 10 minutes into the show. You can hear my tunes and a little interview I did at the O2 Academy with John. It's all about being warm and foxy. Very Nice. Doing loads of press at the minute and I'll post all the bits to this 'ere blog when they become available online ... recently done a Hermitage FM live session featuring a new song 'No Matter How', a Trent Sound session for Jason Loftus on his Nottingham Lace show playing 5 songs and a special version of one of my old favourites, an interview with the Leicester Music Page and and interview for The Ripple magazine.

Thursday, 24 October 2013

So, this is what we're doing. Playing the game. Whilst I'm slowly coming to terms with being a solo singer-songwriter and looking out for means of keeping those skills of singing and songwriting in employment I'll be slowly dripping out some of my recordings ... so far It Ain't Easy and My Life have surfaced. And here's a third instalment ... Play The Gamehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29e1_rwG7jg&list=PL7UCvjRIeiY9bHc8S5B10vDleLSXwSIdf&index=3About coming of age in Nottingham city and a reflection on how great cities transition from pastoral historic medieval towns to the great globalised Americanised urban metropolitan cities, that by hook or by crook, they're now becoming around the world.

Nevermind anyway, eh? It's just a ride. I like this format, not giving too much away, letting the songs do the singing ... but it you are hungry for imagery here's me performing at The Curve Theatre in Leicester ... and you can always find me on facebook and/or instagram ...

Sunday, 20 October 2013

Yesterday I played three sets in total at three wonderful venues for Oxjam 2013 ... met loads of great people, made plenty of new friends and caught up with some old ones as well. Spending a day doing what Sundays are for ... home-made banana bread, apple crumble, carrot and coriander soup and a nice hearty garlic & celery broth ! The compost is absolutely buzzing !!

Here's me at the start of the day at The Curve Theatre in Leicester ...

Here's what I played:-

Your Eyes Are Made Of Gold
Always In The Way
Not In Nottingham
Play The Game
707
My Life
It Ain't Easy

It Ain't Easy
It's A Wonderful Night
Always in the Way
Stop Me Girl
Me & You
You Send Me

An absolute pleasure it was to hear my voice ringing out singing Sam Cooke ie. The Greatest's first smash hit in Leicester own mini Royal Albert Hall. Made me think about the future and what is and what could be. My dreams as a teenage were always to sing in the Albert Hall and the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool ... help me out, help me get there.

And then I played a pretty impromptu set at The Basement, top place, and some top blues bands on later on ... I was playing away from the guitar and sat a piano and jammed through a few songs ...

Stop Me Girl
That's Life
Goodnight

Yeah, that's right, in true lounge piano stylee I played a bit of Frank Sinatra for the locals, they loved it. They wanted more anyways, I was only supposed to play two, and whilst my piano skills are little lacking, plonking and pedestrian to say the least, I was asked to do one more. Good times all in all and all the great acts I managed to see I fancy doing a blog on each, so I'll be bring back 'Matt Henshaw Recommends ...' ASAP.

Friday, 18 October 2013

Keeping you in tune with my gardening, I've just done a bit of weeding, tended to my patch and relocated my Christmas tree ... but what I'm really excited about ... is my compost bin ! (maybe a misappropriation of the word 'excited' there, but it is nice!)

This is my colourful compost. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I believe composting is the first step in saving human kind. I'm no dystopian, I don't think it'll get as bad as all that, but we'd like to keep this place nice, right? Making compost is the ultimate in recycling. You take a bunch of stuff you normally would throw away – eggshells, carrot scraping, yellowed lettuce leaves–throw them in a pile with some dried leaves, leave it all there for a while, and voila! Rich, brown compost! And while making compost won’t exactly save the world, if all of us in the cities, suburbs and estates made compost and used it instead of the petrochemicals, fertilisers, slug repelants, pesticides, insecticides and the rest of it that we pour on to our lawns and gardens today, our environment would be cleaner and safer for us and our children.

Composting helps the ecology, improving soil quality, improving drainage, aiding the growth of plants and hence improving the air quality. Composting has financial benefits too, and economical, saves you buying it in plastic bags, saves buying expensive mulch and transporting such things around the country. We can all have an abundance of great soil in our back yards, balcony or grounds. And we all know that growing your own produce is good for your wallet. The educational benefits are there too, every school, group or community around the country should have a compost heap. Learn responsibilty for your waste, reduce waste, learn about the circle of life, where your food goes and where your food comes from.

This may seems like just ranting, but that's just the kind of beat poet rambling gardener that I am, just taking a break from cleaning out the shed, having some lunch and a cup of tea and filling you in, so let's make a more succinct list, if you're anything like my brother, I know you'll love a list ... here's what to compost and what not to compost, in a Smash Hits style What's Hot and What's Not, or a Vice Magazine Dos and Don'ts ...

The key to getting great compost is to ensure that you get the right mix! You want to try and get a 50/50 mix of ‘Green’ wastes such as fruit and vegetable peelings and garden clippings and ‘Brown’ wastes such as newspaper, shredded paper or cardboard. Getting this mix right will help your compost to aerate and break down quicker.

However, there are some things you should never add to your compost bin including; meat, cooked vegetables, dairy products, dog faeces or cat litter, nappies, diseased plants or perennial weeds.

Wednesday, 16 October 2013

Now seems like an appropriate time to look back on a highly creative year, let you know what I'm up to now and hopefully where I'm going next. I've released an album, started a whole new band and finally bitten the bullet and gone out as a proper solo artist, no-one to blame but myself from this point onwards, eh?

First off, Matt Henshaw and the Rhythm'n'Gospel Cavalcade is coming together nicely, I've written hundreds of songs and carving out a nice little setlist or two to play here, there and wherever you want me. Get in touch, sort me out with some food, drink and petrol money and I'm yours. My initial releases have been warmly received, a few thousands views on YouTube with no real promotion is nothing to be sniffed at I don't think ...It Ain't Easy / My Lifehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RATS_6IuN2A&list=PL7UCvjRIeiY9bHc8S5B10vDleLSXwSIdf&index=1

There's an ever growing number of you on the mailing list, so for that I am thankful, and numbers on facebook, twitter and, now, instagram keep going up so I must be doing something right, right? I'm also blogging fairly frequently and I might start adding to my YouTube channel a little more often, just little treats, we'll see.

Currently in the midst of doing a bunch of radio sessions interviews and podcasts in the East Midlands, some nice shows in my adopted hometown of Leicester, it seems they've taken to me and adopted me, just lovely. In all honesty, I don't really know what I'm doing, I've never been a solo artist before, and contemplating my next move without any kind of collaborator is little daunting, I'm sure i'll figure it out and I hope you'll stick with me. I guess the message is, stay tuned and see where we go from here, it's going to be exciting !

B-Boy Soul
The second episode from myself and ReggiiMental came earlier this year. Coming Around is availablefor download from all your favourite outlets, physical copies are long gone. Jimmy B-Boy is now concentrating on working with the youths of Derbyshire for his MPR Derby project and it may be some time before the next slice of B-Boy Soul comes your way, hopefully not another 3 years, and hopefully the time in between is fruitful and creative !http://www.facebook.com/ReggiiMental

Satsuma Elephants
Started out as just me and my best mate jamming in his garage and we've done festivals, been on the radio and packed rooms out, demand for the Elephants; or the Satsumas, however has far exceeded the supply. I wish I could be a Satsuma Elephants; or my personal preferences, a Suma, everyday but right now we're on holiday, looking to hit the studio sometime soon to mix and master the batch of songs we have, and hopefully we'll be with you to provide your much needed dose of Vitamin C sometime soon.

PS. be sure you've 'Liked' me on facebook, 'follow' me on twitter and instagram, subscribe to the blog and the YouTube channel and you can't go wrong. Updates as they happen, and you'll make me happy, that's all I really want to be.

Tuesday, 15 October 2013

Here in the East Midlands it's been raining heavily for the last couple of days, I haven't had much chance to get out and do anything too productive in the garden besides tending to my compost heap, keeping my greenhouse happy and getting some seedlings going on the windowsill. But now is a perfect opportunity to tell you about what I've put in the ground outside.

Growing Winter Garlic
The main "crop" I've got on the go this winter is garlic. Take each clove of a garlic bulb, which will in turn become a new bulb, and place them around 2cm deep (so not very) in well and deeply dug over soil clear of weeds, stones and general rubbish. The area should be well-drained but the bulbs need plenty of water and need to be packed into the soil so they can absorb moisture and expand. I'll keep you up-to-date on growing winter garlic, if you do go for it though, take plenty of care of the patch, regularly weeding and hoeing in between, to encourage drainage and absorbing of moisture, when the bulb start to show the plant you might have to encourage the top opening up gently, and look out for flowers that need to be snipped and take nutrients away from the bulb. The more you care for your cloves / bulbs the better and more flavour-some your garlic should taster. But garlic does grow wild so you can sow your cloves and chance it, but chances are you'll end up with a sour soggy little bulb, not the best addition to your home-made loaf.

Growing Potatoes
A simple addition to your winter garden and happy little plants all year round are potatoes, just stick sprouting potatoes that have been neglected in the cupboard for a while. A few things to avoid, make sure the potatoes are not turning green, it's a minute possibility, and you'd be very unlucky but the chlorophyll that forms in potatoes could be poisonous, don't let it kill you, just thought I'd say but it's seriously not a big worry! A few words of advice, avoid supermarket potatoes, or anything packaged in plastic (should be a general rule of thumb anyway), you don't want your crop affected by chemicals or bleach that they use to make your potatoes supermarket fresh, or at least aesthetically pleasing for the shortsighted. The best place to go is farmer's markets, your local market or a friend with a potato patch. Support Local Produce!! Again, they love the water, love the moisture, don't need much attention aside from clearing pesky weeds stealing their nutrience, although potatoes are pretty hardy, you should find yourself harvesting some broth filling in no time at all. And again, chop off the flowers ...

Flowers? Tulip bulbs for spring!
Withthe weather it might look ad feel a bit drab outside at the minute but just wait, a little preparation and you might have a wonderful array of colour come spring. Now's the time to get your bulbs in to germinate and gain nutrience over the winter. Care for your bulbs, whether tulip or daffodil, I have a preference for tulips is essential, before you plant them, make sure they're kept in a dry, warm area, you wouldn't want them trying to grow in your kitchen cupboard would you.

Seedlings
Also, I've got the kitchen windowsill and greenhouse as an extension of my patch, I'll tell you about them next time ... ooh, and my multi-coloured heathers.

And for now, keep listening, just done a little facebook update, doing loads of radio sessions and acoustic shows, it's all good, going to add more videos to my youtube page soon, including some teasers of new stuff and general japes, also, been recording some of my favourite little oldies on my new toy / iPhone, debating whether I should share them will the general public, and as readers of my blog, hence, biggest admirers I'll let you decide ... first though, My Life needs more views, I've only earned a few quid from YouTube so far ...

So, moving into a new house you've got to put in some elbow grease to prepare what few things you can plant in the early weeks of October. I arrived at a yard covered in weeds, waist high, and soil filled with big stones, hefty tree stumps, roots beyond roots, and, sadly, loads of broken glass. With a fork, a wheelie bin, new compost bin and a knife to get in the crannies of the old uneven slab work, pesky weed roots ! This picture may not seem too impressive - red wellies aside, which are obviously impressive - but that soil is looking immense considering it's starting position, I wish I'd taken a 'before' picture!

Make sure your soil is well dug over, remove all debris, save greenery, chopped weeds and little roots for the compost, but unfortunately some roots and tree stumps might be too large for the compost and might have to go in the bin; or you could save them for a fire in the future, leave to try and enjoy at a later date ! In terms of "saving the planet"; or, furthermore, the conditions for human life on this sphere we call earth, I truly believe that getting deep down and dirty and back to gardening, urban, rural, small or large scale, or otherwise, is the first step and the way to go for almost everyone. Composting is the simplest thing you can do. I'll expand on this theory at a later stage, and I'll give you some more hints, tips, journal entries and general garden fettering in the future. Hope you'll stick with me on Henshaw's Horticultural Blog, what have I planted? Seedlings?? Forking good times???

Friday, 11 October 2013

Rainy day here in the East Midlands. And as I feel like my blog is my much neglected favourite child I'm going to start writing more, that is my Autumn promise to myself. I'm a fan of the extended written word and the epistolary exchange, my last blog mentioned my success in growing my mailing list, facebook and twitter following, and my considering joining instagram, well I have, but snapshots and 140 characters just don't satisfy my need to mass communication. So here we go ...

An artistic assembly of torn beer mats by me, live from the Cookie Jar, Leicester. Don't worry though, the beer mats were already torn and on table I found myself sitting with a moment to spare ... I'm not one of these sexual frustrated people who go around tearing up beer mats and ripping the labels off their bottles !

My plan is to write more blogs, keep it interesting, let you in on my new hobbies, or things I have always done but don't mind sharing, it's 2013 afterall, and I'm on facebook, instagram and twitter ! And I'm slowly but surely adding to The Matt Henshaw Archive, essentially a place for backing up all my things, just in case technology lets me down, as it almost always does !!

Thursday, 3 October 2013

Around 1200 of you Like me on facebook, over two and a half thousand on twitter, and I'm pleased to have a good few thousand on my mailing list ... debating whether to join instagram or not?? Should I??? Does everyone want to see pictures of my cats? Mugs of tea?? And general japes around towns and cities in the UK???

Wednesday, 7 August 2013

Wow, what a busy weekend and days filled with new and familiar faces. Thanks everyone and anyone who makes these things possible.

I'll be brief, I'm doingan acoustic show @ the Vic Inn in Derby on Sunday, then a private festival on Monday, then back in Leicester for a couple of shows later next week ... in between I'll be taking a road trip to Swansea ... wherever I lay my hat ... that's my home ... just as a heads up, if anyone wants to provide me with tea bags and a sofa bed to come and play a show (petrol money helps too) I'm There !

Here's me before last night's show @ The Exchange in Leicester, great crowd, building it up a little on the acoustic scene round here, it feels good, meeting a lot of great people, I hope everyone stays with me on this journey to wherever it is we're going :)

Speaking of which, I've just joined that monolith of the cyber world myself, I don't really know what I'm getting myself in for but I'd appreciate your friendship over there, warms the cockles does that tiny little 'Like' button ... but I've promised myself not to get toooooo engrossed in it ... that is very much a possibility ... and it's an easy way to share pics ...

Like this one ... my new Page profile pic ... Live @ The London Palladium ... hope you 'Like' it ... don't worry I'll get bored of that soon enough ...

And don't forget BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS - Friday 6th September @ The Venue, Derby - Be there or be extremely right angled !!

Oh, and if you've missed the setlist posts, I always put mine up on here SetList.fm/Matt-Henshaw-13d00551.html ... check what songs I'm playing, it's different everytime I hit the stage, planning is for chumps ... although, I think that's why I failed a lot of my Art GCSE bits ... nevermind !

Friday, 26 July 2013

I'll make it quick to start the ball rolling on my birthday celebrations in which. And my apologies too, for not blogging as much as I'd like.

Friday 6th September @ The Venue in Derby. Get it in the diary, book your train/coach/plane tickets now ... FREE Parking opposite on Abbey Street, buses all day every day and an evening of great music, to be announced. Friday 6th September @ The Venue, Derby

Exciting times too sorting out the Matt Henshaw vinyl, The B-Boy Soul from Matt Henshaw & ReggiiMental going out there too (a few high powered meetings in London later) and Satsuma Elephants waiting on the next big festival experience @ Y-Not Festival (Allotment Stage, Saturday @ noon) and getting out there on the music scene ... so, lots going on.

Monday, 8 July 2013

Absolutely pooped with the busy-ness ! Filled up on sleepings last night after a hectic week ... anyways, here's the songs that I done over the last weeked ...

First @ Scorpios in High Wycombe ...It Ain't Easy
Always in the Way
707
Let Everything Go
Coming Around
When I Close My Eyes
Get Me Some
Everybody Clap Your Hands
Can't Hold Back
Adidas Trainers (Stan Smith Remix)

And from Godiva Festival, and Party in the Park the previous week ...Pick Up The Pieces
Gimme Some More
Can't Hold Back
Everybody Clap Your Hands
Dance To The Music
Think Twice

Funky Good Times !

Here's me hard at work ... what I do when I'm not onstage ... go on, tickle my belly ... you know you want to ...

Tuesday, 2 July 2013

So I've had a pretty busy loooooong weekend. 2 shows Friday, down in Gloucestershire on Saturday and then Party In The Park in Birmingham on Sunday ... I won't tell you the setlist because we've tried some new stuff and want it to be a surprise. Especially for Godiva Festival @ War Memorial Park in Coventry this Saturday. We're on in the Rhythm Tent at half past 5 after Lee from Madness and his Ska Orchestra and Neville Staples from The Specials, and it's all for FREE so if you're in the Midlands and you're not there I want a seriously good reason for missing out on this one.

And then over the last two days I've been moving house in Leicester, no internet, and NO KETTLE for the last few hours ... whose idea was it to pack that up and put it in the car so soon ?!?! Before I had one last tea in the old place. Anyways, just murdered a lovely cup of the warm stuff in the new place and it feels so right. Good Times ... or as the kids say #GoodTimes ...

Anyways, the rest of the week? Heading down to London for the next two days, important meetings to be had and heading over to the New Designers Exhibition in Islington to take a peek at the best new art students in the UK. I'm sure i'll tell you a thing or two about it ... art galleries are a new pleasure ... just spread good feelings through great imagery ... and creativity makes me tingle ...

Then, Scorpios in High Wycombe on Friday night for me and ReggiiMental, it'll be nice to be back in High Wycombe, and so soon (they love us down there) as we kicked off the Coming Around Tour down there at the start of May. #GoodTimes #MoreGoodTimes

As this is quite a text heavy blog I'll leave you with a little picture of me from the last couple of months ... Enjoy !

... hanging out at Helsinki, Leicester's Premier Gay Club, with flowers in my hair for a friend's birthday ! #GayTimes

Friday, 28 June 2013

Just had a mega phonecall about the next Matt Henshaw single coming your way as soon as we can make it happen ... who likes vinyl and psychedelic colours?

Anyways, today? I'm about to head up to Derbyshire where Reggii and I will be playing first at Ilkeston FC for the Woodchoppers Ball ... a little acoustic affair ... and then into Derby city centre for a show at Club 10 on the The Wardwick, smashing out some live B-Boy Soul into the wee hours. See you around ...